Release of "Forever After" by Paisley Kirkpatrick

 

RELEASE DAY PARTY!

 

I love a new book. Don't you? I especially love it when a long-awaited book, of a favored series, releases. Today, my friend Paisley Kirkpatrick's third book of her historical Paradise Pines Series releases--FOREVER AFTER. I've got her here today to celebrate and to also share a bit of her third book. Paisley used to laugh at how my characters came to me. She told me a while back she wasn't laughing any more. So, Paisley, do tell... Meanwhile, have a slice of cake and a cup of coffee. It's early still, we'll have the champagne later. 

 

Thanks for having me, Vonnie. I see you were baking again. You know how I love strawberries. I thought today would never get here. I am thrilled to introduce my third book. Because of this series' connection to my ancestors, each book has become a project of my heart.

I think the connection to you is one of the reasons I love this series. Here, have a slice of cake.

 

Thanks! Have you ever wondered where your story ideas come from? It is the one question people ask me the most. Until a very strange and quite remarkable occurrence happened while I wrote Forever After, I had no idea I might have someone living in my head helping me.

One of my great, great grandparents might just be the answer.

 

Oh, do tell! First, have some coffee to wash down that dry cake.  Cream? Sugar?

 

Both, please.

 

Charles Kirkpatrick was a doctor who left Illinois and traveled across country on a wagon train in 1849. He kept a journal which is now kept under glass in the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley, in California. I can understand why it's considered five-star quality. He was quite literate and wrote a lot of what he saw and what happened around him.

 

 

I am lucky enough to have a copy of the journal and was able to share a lot of what he put on the pages in my second story, Marriage Bargain. At the time I felt blessed to have help from one of my ancestors.

His wife, Mary Kirkpatrick, wrote seven stories under the name of Mary Kirke. She is supposedly the first woman to have stories published in a magazine.

 

Whoot! A feminine trial blazer. I love it!

 

When I finally settled down and read through one of the five 3-inch thick binders of genealogy my Mother assembled, I was about halfway through writing Forever After. My heroine traveled to San Francisco on a ship without luggage and she suffered greatly from nausea. When I read my great, great grandmother's first story published in a magazine, I was caught off guard when I found two of her sentences were written verbatim to mine. Also, the scene was under the same circumstances as mine -- on a ship to San Francisco, no luggage, and constantly plagued with nausea. Eerie, spooky, unbelievable - these were the words running through my head. How could this have happen? In all fairness, I couldn't leave my story similar to hers so I ultimately did change the scene somewhat so we can both take credit for what we've written.

 

Oh, Paisley, that just gives me chills. Here have some chocolate.  I brought some home from Germany.

Mmmm, these are great! At my next Sacramento Valley Rose chapter meeting our guest speaker spoke about past lives. I told her what had happened to me and asked if I could have inherited my great, great grandmother's memories. She agreed it was possible, but thought it was more than likely I inherited Mary Kirke.

On one other note, when I read the last two sentences of my great, great grandmother's story I cried and I still get emotional telling you about them. She was standing on the wharf at San Francisco Harbor. She had just arrived after sailing from the east coast to San Francisco and was waiting for the man she was to marry to meet her. She felt his hand on her shoulder and knew she was home. I have tears telling it again.

I have no idea how her words got in my head, but if it is true and she is living in there giving me plots, I am not complaining. I have no idea where my ideas come from or why this time period and the gold country has always been important to me, but it's a gift and I intend to always nurture it. 

 

Wow, Paisley. Just wow! Time top pop the champagne cork. A story like this deserves some bubbly. Let's toast to your third book, to great sales and positive reviews. Did you bring a copy of the cover? Your publisher does great covers. I just love them.

 

Thanks. Everyone at Desert Breeze Publishing has treated me so well.  

 

BLURB: 

Abandoned by her sisters, her father in jail, Marinda Benjamin takes on the care of her ailing mother the best way possible -- working for an unscrupulous man with the power to crush her.  Forced to spy on a decent man, Marinda's honesty saves her virtue and revenge restores her self-respect.

When Ethan Braddock discovers his brother's poker pot cleaning his private office, he jumps to the right conclusion -- she's there to spy for his nemesis. Ethan can't help but find her irresistible. In spite of what his heart tells him, his brain reserves judgment on her character. Until he unravels the mystery of her connection to Danforth, trust is the one thing he can't allow himself. For that, she'll have to prove herself.

Marinda Benjamin won't marry until she finds the forever after kind of love. Has the man she's dreamed of loving been beside her all along?

 

 

Have some fruit, ladies. We're eating more fresh fruits and vegies around here thanks to the diabetes. Now, Paisley, share your excerpt with us. I can't wait!

EXCERPT:

 Fulton County, Illinois

August 1850

 

"I'll bet this little lady against whatever you've got in your hand."

A sudden hush stifled all the noise in the Hidey Hole Saloon. Master against novice. Who would win? Then quiet snickers began to echo off the wood walls. The regulars of the saloon moved in for a closer look.

Marinda Benjamin stared around at all the patrons who just witnessed her humiliation by Danforth's claim. She latched onto the back of her employer's chair to steady her crumbling nerves. Jonas Danforth had bet her, body and soul, in a card game.

Fancy women dressed in garish attire crowded around the poker table. Some stared at her with pity while a few sneered in obvious enjoyment of seeing another Benjamin sister fall from grace.

She wracked her brain for a way of preventing the ridiculous bet, but she knew Danforth held all the cards. Yet she had to stop this travesty. "Enough!" She stepped up beside his chair. "You can't do--"

The menace in Danforth's glare as he looked at her stopped her from saying more.

A malicious sneer marred his face. "As long as I hold the loan on your house, you'll do as I say. Is that clear?"

She wanted to run, but her feet refused to move. She wanted to speak her piece, as she always did, but now was not the time. So instead, she held her head high. She refused to allow Jonas Danforth to see her frustration. He had broken her father's spirit. He would not break hers.

The town's mischief-maker sat across from Danforth. Patrick Braddock glanced her way. "She looks like she might be worth five twenty-dollar gold eagles and I could use a servant. I call your bet. Let's see what ya got."

The knot in her stomach tightened.

Danforth put his concentration back to the table. He placed three kings on the table -- a heart, a diamond, and a spade. He leaned back and twirled his waxed mustache around his pinky finger. The smirk he directed her way turned her blood cold.

 

BUY LINKS:

 

Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Paradise-Pines-Forever-After-ebook/dp/B00FK8BWAO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1380674597&sr=8-3&keywords=paisley+kirkpatrick

 

 

Desert Breeze

http://www.desertbreezepublishing.com/paradise-pines-forever-after-epub

 

 

WHEW! WE HAVE PARTIED HEARTY TO CELEBRATE THE RELEASE OF FOREVER AFTER. PAISLEY, WISHING YOU GREAT SALES, MY FRIEND!

The Countdown is Over by Vonnie Davis

A MAN FOR ANNALEE

AVAILABLE NOW!!!

 

 

Wyoming Territory—1871

       Gunfire jarred Annalee Gallagher. She straightened in her seat, her heart pounding. Another bullet zinged past the stagecoach, and the older couple sitting across from her gasped in unison. Heaven help her, she’d escaped one nightmare only to find herself in the middle of another.

       The broad-shouldered man who’d been drowsing against her jerked upright and drew a pistol from his holster in a blur so fast Annalee wondered if he hadn’t been holding it all along.

       He fired six shots out of the window before leaning back to reload. “Think I winged one.”

       She didn’t know if he spoke to himself in affirmation or bragged to the occupants of the stagecoach.

       One thing for sure, though, she wanted a look at the gunmen. Did they resemble the criminals in her dime novels? Surely one peek wouldn’t hurt. She leaned toward the open window next to her. Thus far her journey from Chicago to Cicero Creek, Wyoming, had been blessedly uneventful. She’d met none of the miscreants and bloodthirsty Indians written about in her books, so the thrill of living through a stagecoach robbery, like those in stories she’d read, warred with her sense of self-preservation.

       If she’d had her wits about her, she’d be afraid, or so she told herself as she glanced out of the window, hoping to see the highwaymen. With her mind and heart so absorbed with grief this past week, this incident, no matter how perilous, was a welcome respite.

       The gunmen were out of her line of vision, the pounding of their horses’ hooves growing closer. More shots rang out. The stagecoach driver cracked his whip and bellowed an order to the team of horses. “Hi-ya! Go! Go!” The stage swayed precariously as it accelerated over the bumpy road. Gritty dust blew into the coach with such force the air seemed alive with it.

       She flinched as the coach’s jarring motion caused her burns to throb. Having just survived the devastation of the great fire in Chicago—a tragedy that snuffed out three-hundred lives and destroyed nearly one-third of the city—she didn’t think anything would ever frighten her again.   

       She was wrong.

       Still, wanting to get one good look at the shooters, Annalee stuck her head out of the stagecoach window. A rider came into view. Before she could duck back inside, he raised his rifle and fired, shooting off her new traveling bonnet.

       Heart racing, Annalee plopped back onto her seat. “He shot off my hat!” Her voice rippled with astonishment and fury. Her trembling hands touched her scalp, and she prayed she’d feel hair. She breathed a sigh of relief when her gloved hands showed no blood.

       “What did you expect after sticking your head out like that?” The man beside her fired off another shot. “You made a target of yourself.” He quickly reloaded his revolver, muttering under his breath before redirecting his attention to the shooters. “Just my luck to be sharing a seat with a lunatic.”

All-rightie, then. Let the battle between the sexes begin!!!

 

Available in eBook and paperback formats from Still Moments Publishing and Amazon on February 19th. Woot! 

MULTI-TALENTED ALYSON REUBEN

I've learned some new facts about my Wild Rose Press sistah, Alyson Reuben, as I've organized her blogpost for y'all. One, she's gorgeous. Two, she's also an artist--charcoal sketches, pastel drawings and acrylic paintings.

 

Gee, and it's all I can do to paint my toenails...

 

Alyson, what is your life like away from the computer? Tell us something about your household.  

I live in a small town that I’m very proud of.  We’re not just a community, we’re practically one huge family, and there is always a community event to attend or a ballgame to watch.  As for real family, I have a wonderful husband, Greg, and a beautiful daughter, Katie.  My parents, one of my brothers, my grandmother, and a horde of other relatives, live just a few blocks away.  We know what’s happening in each other’s lives at all times… good and bad! lol  It probably doesn’t take a lot of imagination for you to guess how busy life can be around my place.   I write on a strict schedule through the day hours, but no matter how busy I am with my latest project, my life centers around family.

What is your writing schedule like?

I write in the daytime hours when my husband and daughter are at work and school.  Of course, this schedule changes through the summer and vacation months.  Occasionally, when I’m on an especially tight deadline crunch, the family understands that I have to hole myself up until my work is done.

What is the story behind your book title?

The title is both symbolic and an actual sand formation in CASTLES WE BUILD.  It came to me almost as soon as I started writing the story.  The first reference to castles is on page one of CASTLES WE BUILD.  Yet, the title was inspired from a scene between Julia and her second husband, Ford, when they argued about building lofty castles in the sky.  It just seemed natural to compare the ‘sky castles’ to the sandcastles in my characters’ Floridian beach setting.  As I continued writing, several more references to castles cropped up.  Readers will probably pick them out easily, helping to tie all the elements together.

Do you ever dream of writing in a different genre?

Definitely!  I like reading several different genres.  I have a passion for good mysteries and some horror stories too.  Another genre I love is family sagas (no surprise there!).  I’m hoping to one day branch off into one or more of these areas.  But, one thing is certain, I’ll never stop writing women’s fiction and romance!

Has your road to publication been a walk in the park or a steep mountain climb?

I’ve been writing stories since I was in second grade.  Not that they were worth reading! Ha!  Yet, they gave me plenty of practice.  By the time I became serious about actually finishing the stories I began, I got married.  Still, I never quit writing.  I was even an editor for a small advertising paper, which included a few articles.  I submitted story after story (fiction), without any luck.  A BEAUTIFUL CAGE was my first success.  So, I’d say my road to publication has been a challenging one.  And I imagine it will continue to keep me on my toes!

     Tell us about your current release.

Set in 1927, CASTLES WE BUILD is very much Julia’s story.  She’s a woman who is happily married to her second husband after losing her first husband in WWI (or The Great War, as it was called then).  She’s content being a wife, mother, and a somewhat reserved socialite.  Yet, her peace of mind, as well as her heart, is called into question when her first husband returns from overseas, where he was imprisoned.  She now faces a dilemma she never would’ve predicted in a million years.  Which man is she legally married to?  More still, which one has her complete heart?  Faced with a crippling amount of pressure, she makes more mistakes while gaining insights. 

 

The entire time I was writing this story, scene after scene surprised me!  And I don’t mean just the obscure details.  Some of the most pivotal scenes, such as a burning factory, a run-in with a bootlegger, and a critical segment involving Nan, Julia’s stepdaughter, seemed to show up on my computer screen as if by magic.  Julia was as eager to tell her story as she now is for others to read it!

I love to meet new friends and hear from my readers.

 Twitter- https://twitter.com/alysonreuben

Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/#!/AlysonReubenAuthor

Website- www.alysonreuben.com

CASTLES WE BUILD is at Amazon- http://amzn.to/Qm6sxj

Thanks, Vonnie, for having me here on your blog today!